Capital New York – October 29, 2014
by Sally Goldenberg
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday personally thanked the emergency medical service workers who last week transported Dr. Craig Spencer, New York City’s only confirmed Ebola patient, from his West Harlem apartment to Bellevue Hospital where he remains in serious but stable condition.
The mayor heaped praise on the FDNY and E.M.S. workers who participated in Spencer’s transfer last Thursday after he reported a fever of 100.3.
“There’s a courage running through the people who do this work,” de Blasio said during the press conference outside FDNY E.M.S. Station 10 on the corner of 99th Street and the F.D.R. Drive in Manhattan. E.M.T.s from Station 10 helped move Spencer, along with one Haz-Tac (Hazardous Material Tactical Units) officer, Jonathan Negron. In total, five people handled the move.
“It’s great we don’t have to go to the movies or turn on the television to see heroes. You can find them walking the streets of our city,” de Blasio said.
Two officers who supervised the transfer later said the process went seamlessly.
After the health department notified the FDNY that Spencer reported a fever days after his return from volunteering with Ebola patients in West Africa, the crews sprang into action. They dispatched four E.M.T.s and Negron to the apartment, where Spencer was asked a series of questions about his travels and medical condition.
The workers donned full-body gear, including face respirators and splash-protective equipment, said Paul Miano, commanding officer of the Haz-Tac battalion for the FDNY.
“No exposed skin,” said Ed Bergamini, a battalion chief for the FDNY’s Haz-Mat (Hazardous Material) units. “We’ve been practicing for a long time, for over a decade, with this equipment, with these units, and we just put it into practice. There’s slight trepidation all the time because it’s new (but) we expected it. We trained for it.”
Pressed repeatedly on whether the crews were worried, Miano replied, “We’re not the type that are going to tell you we’re nervous.”
The equipment and gear was cut off the workers when they arrived at Bellevue, decontaminated and immediately disposed of.
De Blasio described Spencer’s condition as unchanged from Monday—”serious but stable”—and cautioned he is entering a challenging phase of the virus.
“This is the tough part of the trajectory,” he said. “Things will get worse before they get better. So, he’s got some tough days ahead but … he’s got an extraordinary spirit.”
He also said Spencer “is keeping his sense of humor despite everything he’s dealing with and he’s getting the best care in the world.”
De Blasio has carefully avoided making any comment on the state’s policy, which has angered many civil rights activists, medical professionals and politicians after it was announced Friday in a joint press conference by Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
Cuomo, appearing at an event in Long Island, again defended the quarantine protocols, saying it was a small sacrifice to ask from medical workers and would make it easier for state health officials to trace any contacts if a health worker did end up being diagnosed with Ebola.
“Our point is, it is safer to ask the people to stay home. … If they’re home, they will have contacted fewer people. We won’t have to do a medical Dick Tracey where we have to find out what Subway, what restaurants were you in, and try to retrace steps. They’ll be home. We’ll know who visited them at home,” Cuomo said.
The mayor also assured New Yorkers there is sufficient capacity to handle an Ebola outbreak, should one occur.
In addition to four available beds at Bellevue Hospital, there are four other medical centers equipped to treat Ebola patients, he said.
After the news conference, a mayoral spokeswoman said the city anticipates spending “many millions” on preparing for and treating Ebola.
“O.M.B. (the Office of Management and Budget) is now gathering the costs and the future expenditures are anticipated,” spokeswoman Marti Adams said. “A full accounting of the costs will be released publicly when available. The city will be seeking federal assistance.”
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